Assessing Community Pharmacist Expectation, Satisfaction, and Intentions in the Wasfaty E-Service: Using the Expectation Conformation Theory

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to measure pharmacists' expectations, perceived performance, satisfaction, and intentions with participating in the Wasfaty e-service in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS: A survey was distributed to a convenience sample of pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia. The survey was based on the Expectation Confirmation Theory and consisted of 25 items with a 7-point Likert scale. The survey was divided into different sections: expectations, perceived performance, conformation, satisfaction, intention, job burnout, overall job satisfaction, and socio-demographics. The study data was analyzed using descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate regression analyses.

RESULTS: The study involved 167 pharmacists with an average age of 26.0 (±2.0) years. Most of them were male (67.1%), had an income between SAR 5000 and SAR 10,000 (75.5%), and worked in an urban pharmacy (77.0%). The pharmacists' expectations, perceived performance, conformation, satisfaction levels, and intention to continue participation in the Wasfaty e-services were low (2.9±1.5, 2.4±1.4, 2.5±1.5, 2.4±1.7, and 2.7±1.8, respectively). Pharmacists showed high burnout levels (5.4±1.9) and low overall satisfaction (2.7±1.8) regarding their work in pharmacies. Pharmacist Wasfaty's perceived performance, satisfaction, years of participating in the Wasfaty e-services, and their pharmacy's geographical location were the only predictors of their intention to continue participating in the program. Pharmacists with positive Wasfaty perceived performance, high satisfaction levels, less than two years of experience with the program, and those working in community pharmacies in the Riyadh region were likely to continue participating.

CONCLUSIONS: Community pharmacists had a neutral expectation towards Wasfaty before using its e-services. However, after participating in the program, their perception became negative, with low satisfaction and a decreased intention to continue using the service. While the Wasfaty e-service allows patients to obtain their medications free from community pharmacies, pharmacists' perceived performance needs improvement to enhance their satisfaction and intention to continue participating in these e-services.